Fatally flawed

A fatally flawed argument is one from which nothing can be salvaged. Given that all arguments seek to establish something, an argument which is fatally flawed has such critical problems with its structure, premises, reasoning, or any combination of these that it is simply impossible to rework the argument to be effective. This can be contrasted with flawed arguments, which require structural reworking, and unsound arguments, which are based on incorrect premises.